JP2003256510A - Communication system of physical distribution cycle and container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely perform the communication between a shop and a cold insulation storage in a container even when the container of a vehicle is made out of a material causing jamming, such as aluminum. <P>SOLUTION: This communication system is applied to the physical distribution cycle for loading the cold insulation storage 1 in the container 302 of the vehicle 301 from a commissary 101 to supply the same to the shop 201, and collecting the cold insulation storage from the shop 201 to the commissary 101, comprises a communication unit 210 installed in the shop 201, an in-vehicle communication unit 310 loaded on the vehicle to make the communication with a shop communication unit 210, a relay communication unit 311 installed on the container of the vehicle for making the communication with the in-vehicle communication unit 310 through a fixed wire, and a communicating means 14 installed on the cold insulation storage for making the communication with the relay communication unit 311. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication system for a physical distribution cycle, and more particularly, to a cold storage box installed in a container of a vehicle from a supply station to supply the cold storage box to a supply destination and to collect the cool storage box from the supply destination to the supply source. The present invention relates to a communication system for a physical distribution cycle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Goods such as fresh foods, which need to be transported and delivered while maintaining a low temperature, are usually loaded into a vehicle called a cold storage vehicle having a heat insulating effect for physical distribution. In such a refrigerating vehicle, the temperature is maintained by a refrigerator or the like, but the temperature is not sufficiently controlled at present. Some refrigerating vehicles have a temperature recorder installed inside so that the temperature history can be seen after the fact.However, since temperature information is not monitored in real time, temperature rises that affect internal items can be prevented. It cannot be prevented.
In addition, even if the door of the cold insulation vehicle is left open or there is a failure, it may be overlooked that the driver or other crew member does not pay attention, leading to an increase in internal temperature and eventually damage to the article. There is a risk.

In addition, the inspection of the destination and the goods to be delivered relies on manpower, and there is a loading error in the primary processing factory called Kamisari, which is the supplier, an error in the delivery destination, an error in acceptance at the store that is the supplier, and delivery. At the time, mistakes in communication between the driver and the store clerk tend to leave delivery items, which causes logistics loss.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the conventional physical distribution cycle, the applicant of the present invention has been able to keep cold during delivery in the distribution of frozen foods and other products requiring particularly low temperature maintenance. We have already developed a system that monitors the state of the warehouse, the state of the inside of the cool box at the time of delivery and the destination, etc., and performs safety management of the items stored inside and analysis of management information during the distribution cycle. Have filed an application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-140612).

According to such a system, it is possible to prevent deterioration of freshness, erroneous distribution, etc., and to realize safe and reliable physical distribution. By the way, in the above system,
A distribution cycle is mainly composed of a supply source, a supply destination to which a cool box is supplied from the supply source, and a vehicle that conveys the cool box between them. That is, the cool box shipped from the supply source is delivered by the vehicle to each supply destination, and the cool box collected at each supply destination is collected by the vehicle at the supply source.

In such a system, the supply source and each supply destination are connected to the management center via a public line, and information is exchanged between the management center and the supply source and each supply destination. In addition, a cold storage box and a vehicle that are transported in a physical distribution cycle are each provided with a communication unit. For example, a device failure may occur, a door may be left open, or an abnormal temperature may occur. If a rise is recognized, a buzzer or other alarm is set. In addition, a buzzer is sounded and an LED is displayed upon detection of arrival at the delivery destination.

However, depending on the vehicle, the container in which the cool box is housed is often made of a material such as aluminum that causes radio interference. In such a case, the container causes radio interference, and the container and the cold store There may be cases where communication cannot be performed with. In such a case, there is a problem that the arrival at the cool box cannot be detected, or the abnormality at the cool box side cannot be transmitted to the driver of the vehicle.

Further, in the system configured so that the cold storage and the supply destination directly communicate with each other, there are the following problems when the supply destination exists in a close area. First, as a situation, referring to FIG. 18, store A and store B are arranged in close proximity, the traveling direction of the vehicle is from store A to store B, and the order of delivery is store B Is the first step, and then the procedure is to deliver to store A. In such a situation, when the vehicle first approaches the store A, communication is established between the store A and the cool box (A) to be delivered to the store A (communicable area Pa), and the cool box (A).
For example, the buzzer sounds. However, since the store B comes first in the delivery order, the vehicle travels as it is. Then, when approaching the store B, communication is established between the store B and the cool box (B) to be delivered to the store B (communicable area Pb), and the buzzer of the cool box (B) sounds. In such a situation, the buzzers of both the cool box (A) and the cool box (B) are sounding at the time of arriving at the store B, and which of the cool boxes should the operator drop down to the store B? I do not understand, and misdelivery occurs.

Further, if the cool box to be delivered to the store A is accidentally dropped to the store B, it may not be noticed until it arrives at the store A or until it arrives at Kamisari. An object of the present invention is to enable reliable communication between a store and a cool box in a container even if the container of the vehicle is made of a material that causes radio interference.

Another object of the present invention is to prevent misdelivery. Still another object of the present invention is to enable prompt detection of misdelivery even if misdelivery occurs.

[0011]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system for a physical distribution cycle, wherein a transportation device is mounted in a container of a transportation means from a supply source to supply the transportation device to a supply destination and the transportation device is supplied from the supply destination to the supply source. Which is used in a physical distribution cycle for collecting, a destination wireless communication unit provided at a destination, a loading communication unit mounted on a transportation means and capable of communicating with the destination wireless communication unit, and a container of the transportation means. A relay communication unit disposed inside the communication unit and capable of communicating with the loading communication unit, and a transportation device communication unit provided in the transportation device and capable of communicating with the relay communication unit.

In this system, a transportation device such as a cool box is housed in a container of transportation means, shipped from a supply source, supplied to a supply destination, and collected from the supply destination to the supply source. When the transportation means arrives at the supply destination while the transportation device is being transported through such a physical distribution cycle, that is, when the transportation means approaches the supply destination, communication is performed between the supply destination wireless communication unit and the loading communication unit. Then, the contents of this communication are sent from the loading communication unit to the transportation device communication unit via the relay communication unit in the container.

Here, since the relay communication unit is provided in the container and the communication from the supply destination is transmitted to the transportation device via the loading communication unit and the relay communication unit, the communication between the supply destination and the transportation device is ensured. Can communicate. Claim 2
In the communication system of the physical distribution cycle according to the above, the loading communication unit and the relay communication unit are communicated by wire, and the relay communication unit and the transportation device communication unit are wirelessly communicated.

In this case, since the loading communication unit and the relay communication unit are connected by wire, reliable communication is performed even when the transportation device is housed in a container made of a material such as aluminum or the like that causes radio interference. be able to. A communication system of a physical distribution cycle according to claim 3 is the system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transportation means is provided to the transportation means, and when the loading communication unit receives communication from the destination wireless communication unit, the transportation means is the destination. The vehicle further comprises means for notifying transportation means for arriving at.

Here, when the transportation means arrives at the destination, the fact is notified by a buzzer, LED display, or the like. Therefore, a driver such as a vehicle can easily recognize this. Further, if the name of the supplier is notified as the content of the notification, misdelivery can be reduced. A physical distribution cycle communication system according to a fourth aspect is the system according to the third aspect, wherein the loading communication unit receives the communication from the supply destination wireless communication unit, and transport device communication of the transport device to be supplied to the supply destination. The unit further includes notification determining means for determining whether to notify the unit of arrival at the supply destination. Further, it further includes a transportation device notifying unit which is provided in the transportation device and which receives the communication from the loading communication unit and notifies that the vehicle has arrived at the supply destination to be supplied.

Here, as described above, when the transportation means approaches the supply destination, the fact is notified. At this time, if the driver of the vehicle operates the notification determining means such as the button,
The arrival at the destination is notified to the communication unit of the transportation device that should be supplied to the destination. In response to this, the transportation device side notifies that the transportation device has arrived at the supply destination to which the transportation device should be supplied.

As a result, at the arriving supplier,
Since the notification means of the correct transportation device to be supplied to the supply destination notifies, the worker can supply only the correct transportation device to the supply destination without making a mistake. The communication system of the physical distribution cycle according to claim 5 is the system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the transportation device is provided in the transportation means, and the transportation device is housed in the container of the loading communication unit and the transportation means after leaving the supply destination. Communicates with the device communication unit,
It further comprises misdelivery detection means for determining whether or not the transportation device to be supplied to the supply destination has been correctly supplied.

In this system, after the transportation means leaves the supply destination, the loading communication unit communicates with the transportation device communication unit of the transportation device remaining in the container. Then, the misdelivery detection means is provided with, for example, a table regarding a supply destination for each transportation device. Therefore, by grasping the transportation devices remaining in the container by communicating between the loading communication unit and the transportation device communication unit, it is possible to determine whether there is an undelivered transportation device or whether the transportation device has not been delivered by mistake. Can be detected.

In the communication system of the physical distribution cycle according to claim 6, a unique code for identification is assigned to the communication unit in at least one component of the supply destination, the transportation means and the transportation device. In this case, for example, a code (ID) for unique identification is attached to each of the plurality of transportation devices, and the communication specifies which ID the transportation device is to exchange information with. Done. Further, it is possible to identify from which transportation device the information is.

Here, it is possible to detect which transportation device has arrived at which supply destination, or it is possible to detect misdelivery. Further, it is possible to identify from which transportation device the information such as the temperature history and the abnormality / fault is derived. Claim 7
The container according to (1) has a transporter housed therein and is transported by a transportation means, and is capable of communicating with a box-shaped main body and a communication means installed in the main body and mounted on the transportation means. It is provided with a communication means of a transporter housed inside and a relay communication unit capable of wireless communication.

Here, similarly to the above, since the relay communication unit is provided in the container, the communication from the supply destination is transmitted to the transportation apparatus via the loading communication unit and the relay communication unit, so that the communication with the supply destination is performed. Reliable communication can be performed with the transportation device.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the present embodiment, a cold storage is stored in a container of a vehicle for transportation. The container may be made of a material such as aluminum that causes radio interference. [Cold storage] A cool storage stores items that need to be kept at a low temperature during the transportation and storage of food, and is delivered to the supply destination such as a store while storing the items. An example of a cool box is shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cool box 1 has a housing 2
And a door 3 which is attached to the front surface of the housing 2 so as to be freely opened and closed.
And a caster portion 4 for movement attached to the lower surface of the housing 2. The housing 2 is made of a material having a high heat insulating property, and is configured so that the inside thereof is kept airtight when the door 3 is closed. Further, the cool box 1 is provided with an operation panel 5 having a display section for displaying various information, operation buttons and the like, and a power supply receptacle 6 for receiving power supply. Information such as the temperature inside the warehouse and the delivery destination is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel 5, and as an operation button, the buzzer is turned off when the store arrives at the supply destination. Arrival buttons etc. are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inside of the housing 2 is provided with a storage space 7 for storing articles, and a regenerator 8 for keeping the storage space 7 at a low temperature is provided. Has been. A compressor 9 for cooling the cold storage agent 8 and a control unit 10 for controlling each unit are provided above the storage space 7. The power supply receptacle 6 is connected to a power supply line from a supply source such as a camisary (primary processing factory) or a supply destination store, supplies power to the compressor 9, and charges a backup power supply of the control unit 10. Is done.

The control unit 10 has a structure as shown in FIG. The control unit 10 includes a microprocessor C
RO that stores PU11, basic control programs, etc.
RAM for temporarily storing M12, various parameters, etc.
13, communication means 14, storage means 15 for storing various kinds of data such as data about goods and destinations input at the supplier, status information of the cool box 1 during transportation and at the supplier, and status information about internal goods. And so on.

During the physical distribution cycle, a large number of cold storage boxes 1 are transported, but each cold storage box 1 is provided with an identification code (ID) for identifying the individual cold storage boxes 1 to communicate with each section. Uses this ID. The communication means 14 is a wireless communication means capable of short-distance communication with a relay communication unit provided in a container, which will be described later, and uses radio waves such as specific low power radio, Bluetooth, HomeRF, and IEEE802.11B. A wireless communication means or a wireless communication means using infrared rays such as IrDA may be adopted.

The storage means 15 can be shared with the RAM 13, and a rewritable ROM such as an EEPROM or a flash memory can also be used. Further, the storage unit 15 can be a drive that drives a recording medium such as a hard disk (HD), a flexible disk (FD), or a magneto-optical disk (MO). The CPU 11 further includes a compressor drive unit 16, a display panel drive unit 17,
Temperature sensor 18, open / close sensor 19, bar code reader 2
0 or the like is connected.

The compressor drive unit 16 controls the compressor 9 when the regenerator 8 is cooled. The display panel drive unit 17 controls the LEDs, the liquid crystal display panel, and the like provided on the display panel 5, and controls the temperature inside the refrigerator, mode,
Display control such as warning display is performed as necessary.

The temperature sensor 18 is for measuring the temperature inside the refrigerator, is arranged in the storage space 7, and sequentially sends the detected temperature information to the CPU 11. Open / close sensor 19
Is a sensor for detecting whether or not the door 3 is sealed with respect to the housing 2, and a sensor device such as a photoelectric switch or a proximity switch is adopted.

The bar code reader 20 is for inputting a list of articles to be loaded in the warehouse when shipped at the camisary, and has a structure in which only an interface for the bar code reader is installed. Good. [Transportation Vehicle] FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of the transportation vehicle.

This vehicle 301 has a container 3 on the loading platform.
02, and a plurality of cool boxes 1 are installed in this container 302. Further, an in-vehicle communication unit 310 capable of wireless short-distance communication with a communication means provided in a camisary or a store is mounted at a position easily recognized by a driver. A relay communication unit 311 capable of wired communication with the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 is installed in the container 302, and the relay communication unit 311 and the communication means 14 of the cool box 1 are in a short distance by wireless. Communication is possible.

The vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 is provided with a control unit, and this control unit has a CPU that is a microprocessor, an RO that stores a basic control program, and the like.
M, a RAM for temporarily storing various parameters, a communication unit, an operation panel, and the like are provided. And RA
The M stores various data such as data about the goods and the destination to be input in the kamisari, status information of the cool box 1 during transportation and supply, and status information about the internal goods.

An example of the operation panel is shown in FIG. This operation panel 312 is provided with a liquid crystal display unit 313, and when it arrives at a store to which it is supplied, that is, when it enters the communicable area of the wireless communication means of the store, the store name and the like are displayed. There is. In addition, operation buttons are provided in the lower part of the liquid crystal display unit 313.
The button 314 is a button for notifying the arrival of the cool box to be delivered to the store that arrived from the in-vehicle communication unit 310 via the relay communication unit 311.

In the on-vehicle communication unit 310 as described above, the communication means 14 of the cool box 1 is connected to the relay communication unit 31.
It is possible to receive an abnormality notification, temperature information, etc. transmitted via the device 1, and it is also possible to transmit the information received from the cool box 1 to a camisary or the like. [System Outline] FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration of an information management system of a physical distribution cycle using the cold storage 1.

The camisary 101 is capable of transmitting / receiving data to / from the communication means 14 mounted in the cool box 1, and also capable of transmitting / receiving data to / from the management center 401 via the Internet or the like. The unit 110 is installed. The camisary communication unit 110 is provided with local area communication means such as specific low power radio capable of communicating with the communication means 14 of the cool box 1, and the cool box 1 can be placed in a short distance where communication by this communication means is possible. When present, it is configured to automatically establish communication and transmit / receive data, or to transmit / receive data in response to a request from the cool box 1. Further, the camisary communication unit 110 has a communication function capable of connecting to the Internet via a router or a modem installed in the camisary 101, and is configured to perform data transmission / reception with the management center 401 as necessary. ing.

The articles 30 loaded in the cool box 1 are
A bar code sticker 31 in which the quantity (number of pieces, weight, etc.), loading date and time, food type, K value measured by a freshness meter, kamisari number, internal temperature, etc. are bar coded is attached. When the article loaded in the cool box 1 is food, the K value is measured by a freshness meter and recorded as the initial K value at the time of loading. The data such as the K value and the kind of food is bar coded.

At the time of shipment, as shown in FIG. 7, the bar code reader 20 uses the bar code seal 3 of each article 30.
The data of No. 1 is read and stored in the storage means 15 (see FIG. 3). It is also possible to read the bar code seals 31 of the articles 30 loaded in the cool box 1 one by one, and the bar code list 3 in which information on each article 30 is listed.
3 is created, the barcode list 33 is read by the barcode reader 20 and the storage means 15 is read.
It can be configured to be stored in.

Further, a table relating to the information of the delivery destination for each cool box 1 is written in the control section of the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310. Refrigerator 1 with storage of articles 30 completed
Are loaded on a transportation vehicle 301 such as a truck and shipped. The communicable range between the in-vehicle communication unit 310 and the camisary communication unit 110 is limited, and when the vehicle 301 leaves the camisary 101, the communication between the in-vehicle communication unit 310 and the camisary communication unit 110 ends. Further, the communication means 14 of the cool box 1 also ends the communication with the camisary communication unit 110. If the container 302 is made of a material such as aluminum that causes radio interference, the communication between the communication means 14 of the cool box 1 and the camisary communication unit 110 ends when the door of the container 302 is closed.

Then, the temperature sensor 18 and the opening / closing sensor 1
Monitoring of the temperature information during conveyance and the open / closed state of the door by 9 is started, and the temperature information is sequentially stored in the storage means 15 as temperature history information. The temperature history information is stored in the storage means 1 by sampling the temperature information at regular time intervals (for example, 5 minutes).
It is also possible to store the time and temperature information in the storage means 15 when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 18 changes.

Stores 20 to which the delivery vehicle 301 is supplied
1, that is, when the transport vehicle approaches the store 201 to an area where the in-vehicle communication unit 310 of the transport vehicle 301 and the store communication unit 210 installed in the store 201 can communicate with each other, the in-vehicle communication unit 310 moves to the store. Communication with the communication unit 210 is started. Store communication unit 2
The reference numeral 10 has the same configuration as that of the camisary communication unit 110, and includes a wireless communication means capable of communicating with the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310. When the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 exists in a short distance where communication by the wireless communication means is possible, the communication is automatically established and data is transmitted and received. In addition, the store communication unit 210 is the store 20
1 has a communication function capable of connecting to the Internet via a router, a modem, etc. installed in the device 1, and is configured to perform data transmission / reception with the management center 401 as necessary.

When the transportation vehicle 301 arrives at the store 201 and the in-vehicle communication unit 310 starts communication with the store communication unit 210, the store name is blinked on the liquid crystal display unit 313 of the in-vehicle communication unit 310. The driver of the vehicle for transportation confirms the blinking display and confirms the confirmation button 314.
push. By the driver's operation, the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 notifies the communication means 14 of the cool box 1 to be delivered to the store arrived via the relay communication unit 311 to that effect. Upon receiving this notification, the cool box 1 sounds a buzzer. As a result, the driver or the worker can correctly recognize the cool box 1 to be delivered to the store that arrived.

In the store 201, the articles 30 are unloaded from the transport vehicle 301 while being stored in the cool box 1,
It is delivered together with the cool box 1. Here, from the cool box 1,
Bar code information and temperature history information during conveyance, which are input by the camisary 101, are read from the storage means 15 and transmitted to the store communication unit 210. Store communication unit 21
0 calculates the expiration date based on the received temperature history information and freshness information at the time of shipping, and outputs the expiration date sticker 32. By attaching the expiration date sticker 32 to the article 30, it is easy to confirm the time when the food can maintain a certain freshness, and the food safety can be improved.

Further, the cool box 1 being transported is provided with an open / close sensor 19
According to this configuration, when the door is opened, it is configured to detect it and make a notification, and after delivery to the store 201, it can be set not to make a notification even if the door is opened. However, it can be configured such that a notification is given when the open state of the door continues for a certain period of time. The mode setting that does not notify the door opening can be configured by the mode setting switch provided on the operation panel 5 or other places of the housing 2.

After delivery of the cool box 1 to the store 201, temperature monitoring by the temperature sensor 18 is continuously performed, and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 18 is sequentially stored in the storage means 15 as temperature history information. When an abnormality occurs, the temperature abnormality is notified. The temperature history information may be stored in the storage unit 15 by sampling the temperature information every fixed time (for example, 5 minutes), like the temperature history information during conveyance. It is also possible to store the time and temperature information in the storage unit 15 when the temperature changes to a certain temperature.

After the articles 30 are consumed in the store 201, or when the deadline for collecting the cold storage 1 under the contract is reached,
The cool box 1 is loaded on the carrier vehicle 301 and collected by the camisery 101. When the transport vehicle 301 leaves the store 201, the communication between the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 and the store communication unit 210 automatically ends. Further, in the cool box 1 that arrives at the kamisery 101, is unloaded from the vehicle for transportation, and is collected, the communication means 14 starts communication with the kamisery communication unit 110. Here, the communication means 14 of the cool box 1 reads the temperature history information stored in the storage means 15 and transmits it to the camisary communication unit 110. If there is failure information, this information is also sent to the camisery communication unit 110 at the same time. Send.

The camisary communication unit 110 stores the received temperature history information and failure information in the management center 401.
Send to. The management center 401 analyzes the received temperature history information, generates freshness management information, and provides information to the distribution headquarters 601 that manages this distribution cycle and the store management headquarters 701 that manages the management of the store 201. To do. When the failure information is received, the service center 501 in charge of maintenance is contacted to arrange appropriate processing.

[Control Unit of Cooling Cabinet] Control Unit 10 of Cooling Cabinet 1
The operation of will be described below. <Delivery> FIG. 10 shows the operation when the cool box 1 is shipped with the articles 30 stored therein. In the cool box 1, the cold storage agent 8
It is possible to select refrigerating and freezing modes depending on the frozen state of. In step S11, depending on the state of the animal cooling agent 8, the internal temperature, the form of the article 30 to be stored, and the like,
It is determined whether or not the cold storage agent 8 needs to be frozen. When it is determined that the freezing process of the animal cooling liquid 8 is necessary, the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the compressor 9 is controlled via the compressor drive unit 16 to execute the freezing process of the animal cooling medium 8.

In step S13, the bar code information of the articles 30 to be stored is read. As described above, the barcode information can be configured to read the barcode sticker 31 attached to the article 30, or can be configured to read each information from the barcode list 33. is there. The bar code information is composed of loading date and time, food type, initial K value measured by a freshness meter, kamisory number, cold storage temperature, and other information. In step S14, the read barcode information is stored in the storage unit 15.
To store.

In step S15, it is determined whether or not the loading is completed. If there are still articles 30 to be loaded in the cool box 1, the process proceeds to step S13, and the bar code information is read and stored in the storage means 15. <During Transport> The operation of the control unit 10 of the cool box 1 during transport is shown in FIG.
Shown in 1.

When the transportation vehicle 301 is loaded and transportation is started, temperature monitoring by the temperature sensor 18 is started. In this case, the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 18 is sequentially stored in the storage means 15 as temperature history information.
As described above, it is also possible to configure so that the detected temperature is sampled at regular time intervals, and it is also possible to store the time and temperature information when a temperature change above a certain temperature occurs. It is possible.

In step S22, it is determined whether the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 18 is abnormal.
If the temperature information exceeds the predetermined threshold temperature, it is determined that the temperature is abnormal, and the process proceeds to step S23. Step S
At 23, a temperature abnormality is notified to the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 via the relay communication unit 311. Step S2
At 4, it is determined whether the door is open. Here, based on the detection signal of the open / close sensor 19 for detecting the open / closed state of the door 3 attached to the front surface of the housing 2, it is determined whether or not the door 3 is in the open state.
Is open, the process proceeds to step S25.
In step S25, the opening abnormality notification is issued to the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 via the relay communication unit 311.

Until the transportation vehicle 301 arrives at the store 201 and the in-vehicle communication unit 310 starts communication with the store communication unit 210, temperature information acquisition, temperature abnormality monitoring, and door opening / closing monitoring are repeated. <At the time of arrival> Operations of the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 and the control unit 10 of the cool box 1 when the transportation vehicle 301 arrives at the store 201 are shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.

-In-Vehicle Communication Unit- In the in-vehicle communication unit 310, it is determined in step S31 whether or not communication with the store communication unit 210 of the store 201 has become possible. In-vehicle communication unit 3
When the communication is established between the store 10 and the store communication unit 210, the process proceeds to step S32, the store name arrived at the liquid crystal display unit 313 is displayed, and this is blinked.
Then, the process proceeds to step S33 and waits for the driver to press the confirmation button 314. When the confirmation button 314 is pressed by the driver, the process proceeds to step S34 to notify the cool box 1 to be delivered to the arrived store that the cool box 1 has arrived. This notification is performed via the relay communication unit 311 in the container 302. After the notification, the store name display on the liquid crystal display unit is fixedly displayed in step S35.

-Cold Storage- In the cool storage 1, in step S36 of FIG. 13, it is determined whether or not there is a notification from the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310,
If notified, the process proceeds to step S37. In step S37, the buzzer of the cool box 1 is rung and the lamp is turned on. Next, in step S38, it is determined whether or not the driver or the operator has pressed the arrival button of the cool box 1. When the arrival button is pressed, step S39 is skipped, the process proceeds to step S40, and the buzzer is turned off. If the arrival button is not pressed within 5 minutes after turning on the buzzer and lamp, step S
After 39 minutes and step S40, the buzzer is turned off after 5 minutes.

<In-Store> FIG. 14 shows the processing after the cool box 1 is moved down to the store. In step S41, it is determined whether or not communication with the store communication unit 210 of the store 201 has become possible. In step S42, the information stored in the storage unit 15 is read. Here, the bar code information regarding the article 30 input by the camisary 101 is read. In step S43, the read information is transmitted to the store communication unit 210.

In step S44, the temperature history information is read and transmitted to the store communication unit 210. Storage means 1
The temperature history information during conveyance stored in No. 5 is read out and transmitted to the store communication unit 210. Step S4
At 5, it is determined whether the door opening / closing monitoring has been canceled. If it is determined that the opening / closing monitoring has been canceled by operating the mode switch or the like provided on the operation panel 5, the process proceeds to step S48, and if not, the step S48.
Move to 46. In step S46, it is determined whether the door is open. When it is determined that the door is open based on the detection signal of the open / close sensor 19, the process proceeds to step S47. In step S47, an opening abnormality notification is given. Here, the notification that the door is open is transmitted to the store communication unit 210 via the communication means 14. At the same time, it is possible to warn a store clerk or the like by displaying an opening abnormality on the display panel 5 or sounding an alarm sound. Further, even if the door opening / closing monitoring is canceled, it is possible to notify the door opening abnormality if the door opening state continues for a certain period of time.

In step S48, it is determined whether or not a temperature abnormality has occurred. When it is determined that the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 18 exceeds the predetermined threshold temperature,
Control goes to step S49. In step S49, a temperature abnormality notification is notified. For example, the notification that the temperature abnormality has occurred is transmitted to the store communication unit 210 via the communication unit 14. Further, it is also possible to display a temperature abnormality on the display panel 5 or to warn a clerk or the like to sound an alarm.

When the cool box 1 is collected and leaves the store 201, short-distance communication with the store communication unit 210 becomes impossible and the communication ends. In step S50, it is determined whether communication is established, and while communication with the store communication unit 210 is established, step S4
The process of 4 to step S50 is repeated. <At the time of collection> FIG. 15 shows the operation of the control unit 10 of the cool box 1 when it is collected by the camisery 101.

In step S51, it is determined whether or not communication with the camisary communication unit 110 has become possible. The communication means 14 allows the camisary communication unit 110.
When communication with the Kamisari communication unit 1 is established
It is determined that short-distance wireless communication with 10 has become possible, and the process proceeds to step S52. In step S52, the storage means 1
The temperature history information stored in No. 5 is read out and transmitted to the camisary communication unit 110. This temperature history information is mainly related to the temperature history information at the time of transportation from the kamisari 101 to the store 201, and the temperature information while the cool box 1 is placed in the store 201, if necessary, from the store 201. It is also possible to transmit the temperature history information at the time of transportation to the camisery 101 at the same time.

In step S53, it is determined whether or not a failure has occurred. For example, if the cold storage agent 8 cannot be normally frozen even after the compressor 9 is driven for a certain period of time, it is determined that the compressor 9 is out of order. Further, when the information indicating the other failure is acquired, the process proceeds to step S54. In step S54, a failure occurrence notification is transmitted to the camisary communication unit 110 via the communication means 14.

[Store Communication Unit] Store communication unit 2
The operation of 10 is shown in FIG. In step S61, it is determined whether communication with the communication means 14 of the cool box 1 has become possible. When the communication with the communication means 14 of the cool box 1 is established, it is determined that the communication with the cool box 1 has become possible, and the process proceeds to step S62.

In step S62, the data transmitted from the communication means 14 of the cool box 1 is received. The data received here is bar code information of the stored articles 30, and includes information such as loading date and time, food type, initial K value, kamisari number, and cold storage temperature. In step S65, the temperature history information transmitted from the cool box 1 is received.

In step S66, the expiration date of each article 30 is determined. Here, the current freshness information (K value) based on the initial K value included in the bar code information of the article 30 and the temperature history information during transportation, and the time when the K value exceeds a certain value (freshness standard). Is estimated and this period is set as the expiration date. In step S67, the expiration date sticker is created based on the calculated expiration date. The expiration date seal 32 for each expiration date information calculated for each article 30
Output to.

In step S68, the temperature history information acquired from the cool box 1 is transmitted to the management center 401. In step S69, it is determined whether a temperature abnormality notification has been received. When the temperature abnormality notification is received from the communication means 14 of the cool box 1, the process proceeds to step S70. Step S7
In 0, it is possible to display the fact that a temperature abnormality has occurred and generate a warning sound to notify the store clerk, and to send a notification to the management center 401 that a temperature abnormality has occurred.

In step S71, it is determined whether or not an opening abnormality notification has been received. When the opening abnormality notification is received from the communication means 14 of the cool box 1, the process proceeds to step S72. In step S72, it is possible to display the fact that the door is open and generate a warning sound to notify the clerk, and to transmit a notification that the opening abnormality has occurred to the information center 401.

In step S73, it is determined whether or not communication with the communication means 14 of the cool box 1 is established. If communication is possible, the process proceeds to step S69 and the subsequent processing is repeated. [Management Center] FIG. 17 shows the operation of the management center 401.

In the management center 401, step S81
At, it is determined whether the temperature history information is received. When the temperature history information is received, the process proceeds to step S82. In step S82, the received temperature history information is analyzed to create temperature management information and freshness management information. The created temperature management information and freshness management information are provided to the distribution headquarters 601 that manages the distribution cycle, the store management headquarters 701 that manages the business of the store 201, and the like.

In step S83, it is determined whether or not a malfunction report has been received. When the notification that the failure has occurred in the cool box 1 is received, the process proceeds to step S84. In step S84, the service center 501 in charge of maintenance is notified that a failure has occurred. This notification is
The host computer of the management center 401 can be configured to automatically send a report to the host computer of the service center 501, or can be configured to send a report to a mobile terminal of a service person or the like. Is.

In step S85, it is determined whether a temperature abnormality notification is received. When the temperature abnormality notification is received, the process proceeds to step S86. In step S86, a process for dealing with the temperature abnormality is executed. For example, when a temperature abnormality notification is received from the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 mounted on the transportation vehicle 301 that is transporting the cool box 1, a warning message is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 or the transportation is performed. The driver of the vehicle 301 can be configured to send a notification to a mobile terminal carried by the driver. When a temperature abnormality notification is received from the store communication unit 210 installed in the delivery destination store 201, a warning notification is transmitted to the store communication unit 210, or the temperature abnormality notification is sent to the store communication unit 210. Can be configured to send the notification to other means of communication.

In step S87, it is determined whether or not an opening / closing abnormality notification has been received. When the opening abnormality notification is received, the process proceeds to step S88. In step S88, a process for dealing with the opening abnormality is executed. For example, when an opening abnormality notification is received from the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 mounted on the transportation vehicle 301 that is transporting the cool box 1, a warning message is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310, or the transportation is performed. The driver of the vehicle 301 can be configured to send a notification to a mobile terminal carried by the driver. Further, when an opening abnormality notification is received from the store communication unit 210 installed in the delivery destination store 201, a warning notification is transmitted to the store communication unit 210 or it is installed in the store 201. Can be configured to send the notification to other means of communication.

[Error Distribution Detection] Next, error distribution detection will be described. When the transport vehicle 301 leaves the store, the in-vehicle communication unit 310 cannot communicate with the cool box 1 delivered to the store, and can communicate with the cool box 1 remaining in the container. . Then, the in-vehicle communication unit 310
The control unit stores the data (data indicating which cold box should be delivered to which store) regarding the cold box 1 when leaving the camisary.

Therefore, at the time of leaving a store, communication is carried out between the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 and the communication means 14 of the cool box 1 in the container via the relay communication unit 311. At this time, if there is a response from the cool box 1 that should be delivered to the store that visited first, or if there is no response from the cool box 1 that should be delivered to the store that should stop by in the future,
You can see that a delivery error has occurred.

Here, the control unit of the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 detects the above delivery error according to the response from the cool box 1 in the container, and when the delivery error is detected,
The fact is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 313 on the operation panel 312, or an alarm is issued by a buzzer or the like. Therefore, even if an erroneous delivery occurs, it can be dealt with promptly.

[Delivery to Proximity Store] Next, a process when two stores to which the cool box 1 is to be delivered are located close to each other will be described. First, as a situation, as shown in FIG. 18, store A and store B are arranged in close proximity, the traveling direction of the vehicle is from store A to store B, and the delivery order is store B. Is the first step, and then the procedure is to deliver to store A. In such a situation, when the transport vehicle 301 approaches the store A and reaches the area where wireless communication is possible, communication is established between the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 and the communication unit of the store A. Thereby, the in-vehicle communication unit 310
The store A is displayed blinking on the liquid crystal display unit 313. In the conventional system, in such a situation, that is, when communication is established between the vehicle-mounted communication unit or the communication means of the cool box and the communication unit of the store, the buzzer of the cool box is configured to sound. ing.

However, in this embodiment, the in-vehicle communication unit 310 does not notify the cool box 1 until the confirmation button 314 is pressed by the driver. In this example, the delivery order is store B → store A, so the driver does not press the confirmation button 314. Therefore, store A
There should be no buzzer in the cool box to be delivered to. Next, when the transport vehicle 301 approaches the store B, the radio wave of the store B becomes stronger than the radio wave of the store A.
Establishes communication with the communication unit of store B. Accordingly, the liquid crystal display unit 313 of the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 is
The store B will be displayed in a blinking manner. Since the store B is the store to be delivered from now on, the driver confirms this and presses the confirmation button 314. Then, arrival at the store B is notified from the vehicle-mounted communication unit 310 to the cool box to be delivered to the store B via the relay communication unit 311. As a result, the buzzer of the cool box to be delivered to the store B sounds and the lamp lights up.

In this way, by providing the confirmation button 314,
When arriving at the store, it is decided whether to notify the cool box that should be delivered to the arriving store, so even if there are two purpose stores in close proximity,
The cool box can be delivered accurately and misdelivery is reduced. [Other Embodiments] (A) In the above-described embodiment, IDs are attached to the cool boxes,
Although it was possible to communicate individually with each cool box, a unique ID is similarly set for each communication unit of multiple stores, camisaries, and transportation vehicles, and communication between specific components is performed according to the purpose. It may be performed.

(B) A vehicle has been taken as an example of means for transporting the cool box, but the transportation means is not limited to a vehicle, and may be a ship or an aircraft.

[0078]

According to the system of the first aspect, the relay communication unit is provided in the container, and the communication from the supply destination is transmitted to the transportation device through the loading communication unit and the relay communication unit. Even if it is made of the following materials, reliable communication can be performed between the supply destination and the transportation device.

In the system of claim 2, since the loading communication unit and the relay communication unit communicate with each other by wire, even when the transportation device is housed in a container made of a material which causes radio interference as described above. As a result, communication can be performed more reliably. In the system according to the third aspect, when the transportation means reaches the supply destination, the fact is notified, so that the driver can easily recognize this. Also, if the name of the supplier is notified as the content of the notification,
You can reduce misdelivery.

In the system of claim 4, when the transportation means approaches the supply destination, the fact is notified, and the transportation device to be supplied is notified by the operation of the driver or the like. Upon receipt, the corresponding transportation device issues an alarm. Therefore, it becomes easy for the worker to supply only the correct transportation device to the destination at the arrived destination.

In the system according to the fifth aspect, since the misdelivery detecting means for judging whether or not the transportation device to be supplied to the supply destination is correctly supplied, it is possible to promptly deal with the misdelivery. In the system according to claim 6, a unique code for identification is assigned to the communication unit in at least one component of the supply destination, the transportation means, and the transportation device, so that between the specific components according to the purpose. Communication becomes possible. For example, when an identification code is attached to each of a plurality of transportation devices, it is possible to easily identify from which transportation device the information is, which facilitates arrival detection and misdelivery detection, and also the temperature history. It is possible to easily identify from which transport device the information such as the abnormality or the failure is the information from.

According to the container of claim 7, since the relay communication unit is provided, the communication from the supply destination is transmitted to the transportation device via the loading communication unit and the relay communication unit. Secure communication can be performed between the two.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a cool box.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an internal structure of a cool box.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control unit of a cool box.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a transportation vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an operation panel of an in-vehicle communication unit.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram at the time of shipping.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram at the time of transportation and arrival.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram at the time of collection.

FIG. 10 is a control flowchart of the cool box at the time of shipping.

FIG. 11 is a control flowchart of the cool box during conveyance.

FIG. 12 is a control flowchart of the vehicle-mounted communication unit upon arrival of goods.

FIG. 13 is a control flowchart of the cool box at the time of arrival.

FIG. 14 is a control flowchart of a cool box in a store.

FIG. 15 is a control flowchart of the cool box at the time of collection.

FIG. 16 is a control flowchart of the store communication unit.

FIG. 17 is a control flowchart of the management center.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining an operation when two stores are close to each other.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 cool box 14 Communication means 101 camisary 201 stores 210 store communication unit 301 vehicles 310 In-vehicle communication unit 311 Relay communication unit 401 Management Center

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Shinji Kono             2 of 1000 Otani, Okamoto-cho, Kusatsu-shi, Shiga             Daikin System Solution Co., Ltd.             Within the Institute (72) Inventor Takeshi Nitta             2 of 1000 Otani, Okamoto-cho, Kusatsu-shi, Shiga             Daikin System Solution Co., Ltd.             Within the Institute (72) Inventor Ryozo Inada             2 of 1000 Otani, Okamoto-cho, Kusatsu-shi, Shiga             Daikin System Solution Co., Ltd.             Within the Institute (72) Inventor Yoshihiro Nakagawa             2 of 1000 Otani, Okamoto-cho, Kusatsu-shi, Shiga             Daikin System Solution Co., Ltd.             Within the Institute F term (reference) 3L045 AA02 BA02 DA02 MA02 NA15                       PA02 PA03 PA04                 5K067 AA34 BB21 BB27 DD28 EE02                       EE06 EE16 FF02 FF18 FF23                       FF25 LL13

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A communication system in a physical distribution cycle, in which a transportation device is installed in a container of a transportation means from a supply source to supply the transportation device to the supply destination, and the transportation device is collected from the supply destination to the supply source. A destination wireless communication unit, a loading communication unit mounted on the transportation means and capable of communicating with the destination wireless communication unit, and arranged in a container of the transportation means and communicating with the loading communication unit. A communication system for a physical distribution cycle, comprising: a relay communication unit capable of performing the above; and a transportation device communication unit provided in the transportation device and capable of communicating with the relay communication unit. 2. The load communication unit and the relay communication unit are communicated by wire, and the relay communication unit and the transportation device communication unit are wirelessly communicated.
The communication system of the physical distribution cycle described in. 3. A transportation means notifying means provided in the transportation means for notifying that the transportation means has arrived at a destination when the loading communication unit receives communication from the destination wireless communication unit. The communication system of the physical distribution cycle according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. The loading communication unit, upon receiving communication from the supply destination wireless communication unit, notifies the transport device communication unit of the transport device to be supplied to the supply destination of arrival at the supply destination. Further comprising notification determining means for determining whether or not the transportation device is provided in the transportation device, receives the communication from the loading communication unit, and notifies that the vehicle has arrived at a destination to be supplied. The communication system of the physical distribution cycle according to claim 3, further comprising means. 5. The communication means is provided in the transportation means and communicates between the loading communication unit and the transportation device communication unit of the transportation device housed in the container of the transportation means after leaving the supply destination. The communication system of the physical distribution cycle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising misdelivery detecting means for determining whether or not the transportation device to be supplied to the supply destination has been correctly supplied. 6. The unique code for identification is assigned to the communication unit in at least one component of the supply destination, the transportation means, and the transportation device. Logistics cycle communication system. 7. A container, in which a transporting body is housed, which is transported by a transporting means, and which is capable of communicating with a box-shaped main body and a communication means installed in the main body and mounted on the transporting means. A container provided with a relay communication unit capable of wireless communication with the communication means of the transporter housed inside the main body.